Chapter 13
Jesse
She woke alone and gritty eyed, thanks to the tears she’d still been shedding as she’d fallen asleep the night before.
Rolling onto her back as the sun peeked through the window, she stared up at the ceiling and let ‘The Edie Problem’, as she’d mentally dubbed it, roll over in her mind.
Maybe she should just give up. That seemed like the easiest thing to do. Edie obviously had no interest in forgiving her, and she really didn’t have a right to force her to. Which left them at a bit of a crossroads.
But the thought of leaving with Edie still hating her left a bitter taste in her mouth. There may come a day when she would have to admit defeat and accept she was never going to make things right, but that day was not today.
So she forced herself out of bed and through her morning routine, including a nice hot shower during which she practiced several possible outcomes of her next fight with Edie. Unlike in real life, she won all the arguments in her head, which was a nice change of pace.
Bolstered by the shower and the practice fights, she dressed and headed down the stairs just as the front door opened and Edie stepped inside, followed closely by Grant. They all froze, Jesse halfway down the stairs, Edie and Grant just over the threshold.
It was her Daddy who moved first, a smile spreading across his face as he stepped around Edie. “Hey, baby. I was hoping you’d be up. How are you feeling?”
Her gaze slid to Edie, who was still standing with one hand on the door handle, gripping it so tightly her knuckles had turned white. “Morning, Daddy.”
Grant reached for her, so she made herself finish her trek down the stairs and let him pull her close, though she never took her eyes off the woman at the door. “Morning, Edie.”
That seemed to snap Edie out of whatever was keeping her rooted to the spot. “Morning. There’s plenty of stuff for breakfast in the fridge, or you can head into town. The diner does breakfast all day.”
Beside her, Grant stiffened. “You need to eat something, too.”
“I’m fine.” Edie’s words were clipped, and Jesse swore she could feel her Daddy’s temper spiking.
Great. Just what she needed, to be stuck between two pissed off, stubborn bossy types.
Plastering on a bright smile, she looked up at her Daddy. “Can we go to the diner? They used to have the best biscuits and gravy.”
Daddy smiled back, but there was an edge to it that had her heart jumping in her chest as he shifted his gaze back to Edie. “Sure. We can go if Edie comes with us.”
Edie snorted out a harsh laugh. “And give the rumor mill even more ammunition? No, thanks.”
“Then we’ll eat here.” Although Daddy’s voice tone was still cheerful, there was no mistaking the steel behind his words. “What does everyone want?”
“Nothing. I’m fine,” Edie repeated.
Let it go, Daddy. Let it go.
But Daddy apparently didn’t get her telepathic message. “You’ve been out working all morning. You need to eat something, Edie.”
“And you’re not the boss of me.”
Something crashed in the kitchen, cutting off whatever reply Daddy had been about to give. He shoved Jesse at Edie, his expression hard as he pinned them both with a glare. “Stay here. Both of you.”
Without giving either of them a chance to argue, he stalked past them into the kitchen. Looking over her shoulder, Jesse shared a look with Edie, who rolled her eyes and silently jerked her head toward the kitchen.
They followed Daddy in, only to find him standing in the middle of the room, frowning at the cabinet doors that had somehow blown open.
All the cabinet doors.
“What the heck?” Jesse asked, slowly turning in a circle as she surveyed the ‘damage’. Nothing appeared to be broken, but that didn’t help shake the feeling that something weird was definitely going on.
“Oh my god.” Huffing out an annoyed breath, Edie planted her fists on her hips and glared at the cabinets. Then at Daddy. “Fine. You win. I’ll eat.”
For the first time in Jesse’s memory, Daddy looked completely and utterly lost. “What?”
“You win,” Edie repeated with another roll of her eyes. “I’m going to take a shower but then I’ll whip us up some biscuits and gravy, since that’s apparently what your girl is craving.”
“That’s your answer to all your cabinet doors flying open?” Looking more and more confused by the second, Daddy gestured wildly to the scene around them. “To have breakfast?”
“Well, I’m certainly not going to stand here and argue with two bossy males,” Edie replied, a smirk curving her lips. “I know how to pick my battles.”
“What are you talking about, woman?”
Jesse slapped a hand over her mouth to smother the giggles threatening to escape. It wasn’t that she wasn’t also concerned about the cabinets, but she’d just never seen her Daddy looking or sounding so… flustered.
“Ken.” Edie shrugged, as if that simple answer explained everything. “He was a nag when he was alive and honestly, being dead has only made him worse.”
One of the cabinets above the sink slammed shut again, so hard it bounced right back open, making Daddy jump and jerk around at the sound. Turning back to Edie, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose the way he did when he was trying hard not to lose his patience. “You have to be fucking with me.”
“I’m not. He’s a quiet sort, just like he was when he was alive, but he gets kind of rowdy when I’m not taking care of myself. So, you win. I’ll be back down after my shower.”
With that, Edie turned on her heel and swept from the kitchen with all the regal air of a queen. Jesse watched her go, then looked back at her Daddy, who was still standing in the middle of the kitchen, his eyes now open and looking utterly, adorably befuddled.
She couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing.
Edie
The shower helped calm her frayed nerves a good bit. Thank god, because she wasn’t sure she could take much more of Jesse’s soulful looks and Grant’s too-knowing eyes before she broke. Especially with her conversation with Grant still swirling around in her brain.
I think it might actually kill me to have to live the rest of my life knowing the woman I love is still in love with someone else.
What was she supposed to do with that information? Even if she did want to work things out with Jesse, to give her another chance, it wasn’t like that was actually an option. Jesse and Grant were getting married for fuck’s sake.
She could just tell Jesse she forgave her. The thought had crossed her mind more than once over the past two days. It would solve all their problems and get Jesse out of her hair sooner rather than later.
But she couldn’t seem to bring herself to lie about it. And she wasn’t particularly keen on digging into why that was.
So she put it out of her mind—again—and crouched to pull open the drawer holding her t-shirts. And paused with her hand hovering over the pile of haphazardly folded clothes when she spotted that same fucking polaroid from the day before sitting on top.
Hadn’t she shoved that under all her clothes yesterday?
“Obviously not,” she muttered to herself, picking up the photo and pushing it to the bottom of the drawer. She’d been so flustered at the time she must have left it sitting on top and just not realized it.
That was definitely what happened.
Shaking off the lingering unease, she grabbed a shirt at random and pulled it over her head before slamming the drawer shut and heading downstairs.
Halfway down the steps she paused, tilting her head to the side and listening. Jesse was laughing at something, and the familiar sound made her chest ache with longing as it filled the house. And then Grant joined in, quieter and deeper, but it somehow melded perfectly with Jesse’s more high-pitched shrieks. A perfect harmony of joy that made her realize with a sudden clarity exactly how empty her house was on a regular basis.
Maybe once the dust settled from this… whatever it was with Jesse, she’d make it a point to go out more often. The club in Charleston had plenty of single members. She could probably find another Little girl of her own if she put the effort in.
The idea left her feeling a little hollow, again for reasons she wasn’t super interested in exploring until later. Annoyed with herself, she finished her trek down the stairs to the kitchen.
Where she found Grant and Jesse, the latter with flour dusting her face as she tipped her head back, offering her lips up for a kiss. Grant, who was so far flour-free, leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.
It was such a simple, intimate moment, and for the first time in years she felt like an intruder in her own home.
Lying was sounding like a better and better option all the time.
Her light cough got their attention, and they pulled apart, not even bothering to look sheepish. Which she was grateful for. Somehow it would have been worse if they’d acted embarrassed by being caught.
“Looks like you two got the biscuits started already.”
Jesse grinned. “We did!” The bright smile faded a bit, and Edie hated herself for feeling guilty about it. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Less work for me,” Edie said with a shrug. “Once y’all get those in the oven I’ll get started on the gravy.”
With nothing else to do, she sat at the table and just…watched. The pair moved with a seasoned grace that told her they spent plenty of time in the kitchen together. Every now and then, Jesse would do or say something that earned her a quick pop on the bottom. Sometimes she would blush and apologize, other times she would just giggle and dance out of reach.
At one point, Grant turned, and Edie could have sworn his smile widened just a smidge when his gaze landed on her. And damn if her heart didn’t skip a whole fucking beat when it did.
God, this was getting complicated.
To distract herself, she pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the group message she had with her girls. As she’d expected, it was filled with texts from them, demanding to know what was happening, and she couldn”t help but laugh at their overly dramatic tendencies.
Noelle
Anybody heard from Edie yet?
Ginny
Nope. Not a word. Bitch is holding out on us.
Taylor
Do you think everything’s okay? Maybe we should go over there.
Carly-girl
Oh my god. DO YOU THINK SHE NEEDS US TO HIDE A BODY????
Noelle
Definite possibility. I bet Dom has a shovel or something. I can be there in twenty minutes.
Taylor
Your Daddy will beat your butt if you steal his tools AND get ticketed for reckless driving in the same night, ‘Elle.
Noelle
Worth it.
There was more talk of hiding bodies than she expected, and a concerning level of detail from Ginny. But she also had no doubt they were dead serious and if she called to let them know she had, in fact, murdered Jesse they would all be there within the hour to help her dispose of the evidence.
Maybe she didn’t have a lover in her life, but her life wasn’t lacking love.
Edie
Y’all are ridiculous and I love you. I don’t need to hide a body… yet. Jesse’s fiancé showed up last night. I’ll tell you the rest over drinks after they leave.
Ginny
HER WHO SHOWED UP WHERE?
Noelle
Okay, now we are definitely hiding a body.
Carly-girl
That’s it. I’m canceling my trip to Nebraska.
Edie
Don’t you dare, little girl. I’ll be fine. You are not skipping Easter with your family just for me.
Carly-girl
I never get to have any fun.
Taylor
Wait. The guy she’s marrying is THERE? With you? In your house??
Edie
Yes.
Taylor
Maybe Ian and I should come over.
Ginny
Texting Rex now.
Noelle
Oooh, good idea. Send the big bad biker dude. Excellent choice, Gin.
Carly-girl
If y’all are going over there, I’m coming too! Just gotta sneak past Mr. Bossypants, first.
Taylor
This… isn’t exactly what I had in mind, guys.
Edie
Oh my god, just STOP. I’m FINE. I will call if I need you, but I swear if any one of you shows up here before I tell you to come, I will spank you myself. Now, I’ve gotta go make some gravy. Stay where your daddies put you. I mean it.
Setting the phone to silent, she shoved it back in her pocket. But she couldn’t quite wipe the smile off her face as she made her way over to the stove.